UN Extends Iraq "Oil-for-Food" Program for 150 DaysUN Security Council unanimously adopted a draft resolution Tuesday to extend the Iraq "oil-for-food" program by 150 days from midnight July 3, when the current one-month roll-over is set to expire.In light of pressures from council members, particularly from Russia, Britain has dropped plans pushing for a vote on the British-US draft by July 3, a deadline set by itself when it proposed the one-month roll-over. By the terms of the resolution, the council decided to conduct a thorough review of all aspects of the implementation of this resolution 90 days after the entry into force and again prior to the end of the 150-day period. The council expressed its intention to consider favorably renewal of the provisions of this resolution as appropriate, providing that provisions are being satisfactorily implemented. The council also decided that the effective deduction rate of the funds deposited in the escrow account to be transferred to the Compensation Fund in the 150 day period shall be 25 percent. It expressed its intention to establish a mechanism to review, before the end of the 150-day period, the effective deduction rate in future phases, taking into account the key elements of the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. With the unanimously adopted resolution 1360, the council called on the Iraqi government to take the remaining steps necessary to implement the disarmament of its weapons of mass destruction. It also reaffirmed the commitment of all council members to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. After the adoption, U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham, joined in British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, proposer of the so called " new arrangement" in a unison, saying "the majority is feeling regret." "We could have, and we should have done better, for reasons we all know," said Cunningham in the formal council meeting. "The bigger loser... is the majority in the council who favor the new approach," he noted. The "oil-for-food" humanitarian program allows Iraq to export oil and buy civilian goods under U.N. supervision to offset the impact of the sanctions, imposed when Baghdad invaded Kuwait in August 1990. Meanwhile, the Office of the Iraq Program announced Tuesday that as of the end of last week, approximately 2 billion U.S. dollars in uncommitted funds were available in the U.N. escrow account for Iraq for the purchase of humanitarian supplies, oil spare parts and equipment. An additional 10.6 billion dollars worth of supplies, including 1 billion dollars worth of oil spare parts and equipment, under already approved contracts, is in the production and delivery pipeline. There have been no Iraqi petroleum exports since June 4 under the "oil-for-food" program, said the office. |
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